Working Out with the Dragon Prince
by Solora Goldsun
Summary: Soren's morning workouts are a vital part of his daily routine, for his mind as well as his muscles. A baby dragon tag-along is usually not part of the plan, but there's a first time for everything.


**During season 3, Soren ended up skyrocketing to the top of my list of favorite characters. I loved seeing him finally realize what a horrible excuse for a father Viren was. I loved his precious himbo moments. "I am bringing hay to the horses!"**

**Now that he's on the good side, I'm itching for some positive interaction between him and the other characters. I like to think that there will be some humans who stay in Xadia to help negotiate peace between the countries, and I hope Soren is one of them. My boy deserves to be a dragon rider, okay?**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

The morning was cool and pleasant with the promise of a warm day on the golden horizon. Soren stopped to take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of mountain air and the distant fields below. It was the perfect morning for a workout.

He started running down the stairs, keeping his pace restrained so he wouldn't lose his balance and start falling down the mountainside. Whenever he reached a break in the stairs, he did twenty squats and a series of stretches before continuing on his way.

His mind receded further and further with each movement. His noisy thoughts faded behind a black curtain. All that mattered was the strain of his muscles, the support of his skeleton, and the sweat on his skin. He was a soldier. He was an athlete. His mind was totally blank.

At least, it was until he heard something following him. He turned around to the sound of scampering feet, just in time to see a familiar baby dragon hopping down the stairs.

Zym trotted up to Soren and sat down, looking up at him and letting out a single, cheerful yip.

"Hey," Soren greeted, kneeling down. "Shouldn't you still be in bed?"

Zym barked and spun in a circle, then crouched down, tail wagging.

"Wanna play, huh?" Soren laughed, reaching out to gently ruffle the dragonet's soft mane. "Sorry, buddy. I'm doing a serious workout. Grownup soldier stuff. Go back up and play with Callum, okay?"

The young prince let out a huff, stomping his feet and growling sullenly. He glanced at the red sliver of the rising sun, then let his head drop, pretending to snore.

"He's still sleeping? Is that what you're saying" Soren guessed. When Zym nodded, he grinned. "Whoa! I can speak dragon!"

Zym rolled his eyes before bounding down the stairs, pausing to see if Soren was following.

Soren let out a sigh of defeat. "I guess I can't stop you from coming with me. You _are _a prince, after all."

Zym warbled proudly, his tail flicking as he led the way down the mountain.

"Just so we're clear," Soren continued. "Your mom knows where you are, right? I'm not gonna get accused of kidnapping you and get zapped or something, right?"

Zym tilted his head, his tongue lolling out.

"I guess I'll take that as a maybe," Soren murmured. "Okay, little fluffy prince! Try to keep up!"

He started down the stairs, Zym hopping along next to him. Occasionally, the young dragon would spread his wings and fly ahead. "That's it," Soren called. "You gotta exercise all the muscles!"

When they got to the next platform, Soren started doing his squats. He noticed Zym repeatedly crouching down, then jumping up, an expression of intense concentration on his young face as he tried to imitate the exercises of his human companion. It was, admittedly, pretty cute.

Things continued in this way until they reached the bottom, where Soren started stretching his legs. "I'm gonna do a few laps around the field. Think you can handle that?"

Zym pawed at the ground, growling excitedly

"If only all our recruits were as eager as you," Soren mused. "Let's go!"

Soren jogged away from the Spire while Zym followed, trotting in a way that matched Soren's gait but left the smaller creature lagging behind. Eventually, the dragonet bounded forward before falling back into the trot.

"Don't try to copy me," Soren advised. "Beginners should find a pace that works. Doing something that doesn't come naturally just gets you hurt. I learned that the hard way a few times."

Zym huffed stubbornly, still trying to master the pace Soren was setting. Eventually, however, he ended up settling on the trot and falling behind.

Soren felt himself getting into his workout state of mind once again. He took deep breaths as he ran, lifting his feet a little higher. These were his favorite moments of the day, the moments when he could fully immerse himself in something he was good at. He didn't have to think about the past, wonder about the future, or agonize over questions of right and wrong. He could just exist.

After a minute, he realized that he didn't hear Zym anymore. He turned around to see that the little dragon had stopped and was panting.

"Come on," he encouraged. "Push through it."

Zym whined, licking at his forepaws and giving Soren a pathetic stare.

"You gotta work through the burn," Soren urged. "Just a little bit each time, so you get stronger. See if you can make it to me, then we'll take a break. Think you can do that?"

Zym took a deep breath, then leaped forward twice before flopping over onto his side.

Soren sighed. "Good enough." He walked over, gently tapping Zym's side with his foot. "Come on, your highness. You need to walk for a bit. If you just lie down like that after a run, you'll get a cramp."

Zym groaned, reluctantly getting back to his feet and looking plaintively up at Soren.

"That's it. One lap, okay? Then, you'll be loose enough to sit down." Soren chucked Zym gently under the chin. "I'll let you set the pace, okay?"

After scuffing his paws in the dirt for a moment, Zym started walking at the literal slowest pace possible, lifting each foot and putting it down over the course of several seconds. Soren caught the cheeky look on the dragonet's muzzle and rolled his eyes.

"Slow-motion isn't a pace."

Zym blew a raspberry, reminding Soren very much of a young, goofy Ezran.

At a snail's pace, they continued through the field as the sun rose over the horizon. Zym paused to look at it, then let out a quiet whimper.

Soren followed his gaze, his heart sinking as he realized what the young prince was looking at: They were standing in the shadow of Thunder's statue.

Zym watched the sun rise behind his father. Soren watched Zym, then looked at the statue of the former dragon king.

He was a magnificent, terrifying figure. His jaws were open wide and his wings were spread. One foreleg was outstretched, claws reaching upward. He looked as if he could spring to life at any time, even if his petrified form was partially-crumbled.

"Why would he be reaching up?" Soren wondered aloud as he looked at Thunder's position. "If he was fighting King Harrow and my dad, he should've been looking down."

Zym jumped a little, looking away from his father to chirp curiously up at Soren.

Soren shook himself. "Sorry. Just talking to myself." He looked at the statue, tapping his chin. His father had told him about the "incredible triumph" against Thunder, of course, about how he and Harrow had faced the monster down without hesitation before finding and destroying the egg of the dragon prince.

The egg!

Soren looked at Thunder's paw, then toward the Storm Spire. "He was trying to get to you, huh?" he realized.

Zym whined softly, his tail curling around his paws.

Soren sat down in the grass, letting the subdued dragonet crawl onto his lap. The high from his workout was fading, allowing a whole slew of unwanted thoughts to come cascading into Soren's unwilling mind.

In the moons following Thunder's demise, Viren had always described it as a moment of true retribution. The slaying of a monster. A victory for humanity. He hadn't said anything about how Thunder had died in the shadow of the Storm Spire, reaching desperately for his son. He hadn't said anything about the anguish that was permanently etched on the dragon king's face.

Maybe Viren didn't notice stuff like that. Or, maybe he didn't think such details were important.

It didn't matter, because he was probably dead, and wouldn't be thinking much of anything anymore.

Soren jumped a little when a warm tongue touched his cheek. Zym cooed softly and nuzzled him, then started licking at his other cheek. He realized that he had started crying at some point.

He tried to stop, but memories just kept surfacing: That moment in the cell, when Viren said it didn't matter that his son had almost died. The disapproval and then the dismissal that had graced Viren's face when Soren refused to be transformed into a monster. The absolute horror on Claudia's face when she realized that Soren was absolutely willing to kill their father. Stabbing his father in the chest and watching him fall. It didn't matter that it had been an illusion. Soren had still done it.

The tears flowed. Zym kept licking his face, pressing close to his chest and purring gently.

Soren glanced around. No one else was around. Letting out a sigh of defeat, he stopped trying to hold back, and just waited to calm down. The warm weight on his front and the steady purr in his ears helped immensely.

"You're lucky, you know?" He wiped at his eyes a bit as Zym drew back to look at him. "My dad wouldn't have done that." He nodded toward Thunder. "I doubt he was even thinking about me when Rayla pushed him off the Spire." His words came out sharp and bitter, enough to make Zym wince a little.

"Hey. Sorry, buddy. Just ranting a bit." He stroked Zym's mane until the dragonet relaxed again.

"Seriously, though. Your dad did everything to get back to you, and I bet your mom would rip the entire continent apart if you vanished again. Having parents who care that much…" He wiped his eyes on his shoulder.

"I guess it makes sense, huh?" he said with a tearful grin. "I mean, someone like you is easy to love. Small, cute, ridiculously nice… I never was like that, even when I was your age. Maybe I'm just…not a loveable person."

Zym let out a low cooing noise, snuggling against Soren's chest. He wiggled his paw under the armor so he could lightly scratch the soft tunic underneath.

Soren laughed a little as Zym's tiny claws tickled him. "Trying to make me feel better?"

Zym warbled, nodding his head. He placed his other paw over Soren's heart and let out a short, encouraging bark.

"You're a good kid, Zym," Soren said, sniffling loudly. "You really are."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Soren shed the last few tears that needed to be shed. Zym silently regarded the towering form of Avizandum. Finally, as one, they stood up. Zym hopped off Soren's lap while Soren stretched out his arms and looked at the stairs leading up the Spire.

"Going up a huge flight of stairs is my favorite kind of workout!" he remarked.

Zym gaped up at Soren, shaking his head slowly.

Soren started toward the Spire, only to be stopped by an insistent yip. He turned to see Zym still sitting in the grass, giving him the most pathetic puppy-eyes he had ever seen. The dragonet lifted a small paw and whined pathetically.

"You want me to carry you?" Soren guessed.

Zym hopped up, wagging his tail.

Rolling his eyes, Soren knelt down so that Zym could climb onto his back. "Just don't tell any of the other soldiers about this, or they'll all start asking me to carry them."

He stood. "And, I mean, I wouldn't blame them. Who wouldn't want to be carried by someone as buff and handsome as me?"

Zym barked cheerfully, nuzzling Soren's neck as he wrapped his tail around his midsection.

Soren started his long trip back up the Spire, taking deep breaths and feeling that familiar burn in his legs along with the unfamiliar weight of a young dragon on his back. Each stop on a platform was rewarded with an encouraging yip and a lick to his ear.

The sun was painting the grass below and the rock around them with pink, orange, and gold. The air was growing warmer, tinged with the sharpness of stone and sky.

_This is gonna be a good day,_ Soren decided. He felt Zym shift into a more comfortable position on his back, and continued his journey back up the Spire.

**This started as a fluffy idea, I swear. I imagined Soren babysitting Zym, but it turned into Zym tagging along for a workout, and then Avizandum found his way into the story, and… Yeah. Our boy is going to need some therapy and hugs, and I hope he gets some soon.**

**Until next time, peace out!**


End file.
